After 15-20 years in the corporate fashion world, artist and teacher Chris Vabre felt a huge hole in her life. Despite working in creative industries, she realized she'd completely abandoned her own creative practice—the painting, sculpting, fashion design, and artistic exploration that had defined her childhood. Sound familiar?

In this conversation, Chris shares her journey from corporate creative to full-time watercolor teacher and coach who transforms students from feeling "unworthy and not good enough" to confident, clear artists who understand their unique style. Her path began unexpectedly when Skillshare reached out through her jewelry brand website, asking her to teach. 10 years later,, she's built a thriving business helping others reconnect with their suppressed creativity.

Chris addresses a crucial societal problem: we've been conditioned to say "I'm not creative" or "there's not a creative bone in my body," despite scientific proof that all humans are inherently creative. She explains how this conditioning particularly affects corporate professionals who've spent decades believing creativity is frivolous or separate from "real work."

The conversation offers practical pathways for rekindling creativity, from her free online community where her members provide kind, supportive encouragement, to her tiered programs that help students progress from basic techniques to discovering their unique artistic style to potentially teaching others. Chris also explores the exploding opportunities in creative business, from surface design (art on products) to licensing artwork, showing that creative careers are being invented "right and left."

For anyone who's stuffed down their creative dreams so long they're not sure they're real anymore, Chris offers both permission and a roadmap. Her message is clear: that creative yearning isn't random—it's coming from somewhere important, and there's never been a better time to answer its call.

1. The Watercolor Journey free group in Skool
2. The Membership Community
3. The Art Style Clarity Formula course/group coaching
4. The Creative Online Teaching Mentorship 12-week 1-On-1 Program
5. Chris on Instagram
6. Chris on YouTube
7. You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay

When Kevin Hubschmann joined event management platform Splash as one of its first 10 employees, he simultaneously launched a comedy career that would eventually replace his tech job entirely. But he didn't quit corporate life to become a standup comedian—he discovered something more powerful: comedy skills are the ultimate professional development tool, and most organizations desperately need them.

In this conversation, Kevin introduces the concept of "Laughter as a Service" (LaaS) and makes a crucial distinction that changes everything: there's a stark difference between trying to be funny and using comedy skills to create moments of laughter. While the former leads to awkward jokes in meetings, the latter builds psychological safety, enhances emotional intelligence, and creates genuine human connection.

During the pandemic, when comedy clubs shut down, Kevin pivoted to bringing comedians to corporate Zoom audiences. But what started as simple entertainment evolved into something deeper—custom professional development programs that use improv and comedy techniques to address specific business challenges. From healthcare workers to lawyers, sales teams to C-suites, his team develops targeted curricula based on what organizations actually need: better listening, going off script gracefully, creating psychological safety, or simply having each other's backs.

The conversation reveals surprising insights about why improv training works so well in corporate settings. It's not about performance or making people laugh—it's about presence. As Kevin notes, many of our favorite moments from movies and TV shows were improvised, created by people being fully present rather than following a script. The same principle transforms workplace interactions.

We also explore Kevin's concept of the "after-work comic"—professionals who use comedy as a training tool for growth without quitting their day jobs. His advice for bringing humor to work is counterintuitive: forget the jokes, focus on presence, and connection will follow.

Kevin's Work

1. Laugh.events - Corporate comedy skills training and professional development
2. LaughRx Newsletter
3. LinkedIn: Kevin Hubschmann

Books Mentioned

1. Sick in the Head by Judd Apatow
2. Sicker in the Head by Judd Apatow

After spending most of her life denying she had feelings, Christy Pretzinger built a business based largely on helping others develop them. Now CEO of WG Content and founder of The Better Leader Project, she's on a mission to help Gen Z develop the human skills that will make them irreplaceable in an AI-driven world—while creating workplaces where Sunday scaries become extinct.

In this conversation, Christy reveals a crucial insight: while AI might excel at tasks, our survival depends on our humanity—except we're terrible at being human. We struggle with vulnerability, curiosity, and empathy—the very skills that make us irreplaceable. This paradox sits at the heart of the workplace crisis facing younger generations who crave authenticity but lack the tools to practice it professionally.

Christy shares her observations about Gen Z's relationship with work: they want genuine connection, refuse to leave their emotions at home, and are opting out of traditional management roles after watching their elders get "chewed up and spit out." But notably, they're not opting out of leadership—they just can't reconcile being themselves with the management models they've witnessed.

The conversation takes a personal turn when Christy discusses her COVID-era leadership challenges, including having to lay off a third of her company while navigating her own tendency to err too far on the empathy side. Her vulnerability about not being able to do any of the jobs in her company anymore, despite having done them all, offers a refreshing take on what authentic leadership really looks like.

We explore practical approaches to bringing appropriate emotion into professional settings, the difference between kindness and weakness, and why the leader's primary job is to remove barriers to their team's success. Christy's framework for helping people practice their humanity in small cohorts offers a tangible path forward for organizations struggling to bridge generational divides while maintaining professional standards.

For anyone wondering how to create environments where people can be both human and high-performing, or leaders trying to model authenticity without sacrificing effectiveness, this conversation provides both philosophical grounding and practical guidance.

• Your Cultural Balance Sheet by Christy Pretzinger
• The Better Leader Project - Movement to help Gen Z develop human skills for work
• ChristyPretzinger.com
• LinkedIn
• WGContent.com